Set up a Labuan company
Labuan bank account guide 2026

Labuan company bank account: where a holding company keeps its money

Updated 13 November 2026Labuan FSA rules in force 28 October 2026About 10 minutes to read
The short answer

A Labuan company can bank with a Labuan bank in dollars or other currencies, open a ringgit account onshore in Malaysia, or bank abroad. No rule makes you fly to Labuan; each bank decides whether a video call will do.

Expect the long form: since 28 October 2026 Labuan's rules list non-resident customers and personal asset-holding vehicles as higher risk. And deposits at a Labuan bank have no Malaysian deposit insurance.

Where should my company bank? Work out the fees
Licensed in Labuan 70 banks and investment banks on the gazette list of March 2026 Investment banks may not take deposits, so far fewer can hold your company's account.

A Labuan holding company is quiet by design. Dividends arrive a few times a year, a share sale now and then, and money leaves when you decide to take it. That quiet makes a bank ask harder questions, not easier ones: who is behind it, where the money started, and why Labuan. Answer those well and the account is the easy part of owning a Labuan company.

Key takeaways

  • A Labuan company can bank in Labuan, open a ringgit External Account onshore, or bank abroad.
  • Of the 70 Labuan bank licences, the investment banks can't take deposits.
  • Rules in force since 28 October 2026 treat a foreign-owned holding company as higher risk: source of wealth and senior approval.
  • No rule requires a visit; video KYC is allowed, and each bank chooses.
  • Labuan accounts move money only by transfer: no cash, no cheques.
  • Deposits at a Labuan bank are outside Malaysia's RM250,000 deposit insurance.
Chapter 1

Three places a Labuan company can bank

Labuan sits off the coast of Borneo, but legally it stands apart from the rest of Malaysia. Bank Negara Malaysia says plainly that all Labuan entities are non-residents for its foreign exchange rules. That one line opens three doors.

Kuala Lumpur Labuanoff Borneo Abroad
Labuan bankDollars and other currenciesAny currency; ringgit only where Bank Negara allows. Transfers only, by SWIFT.
Onshore MalaysiaA ringgit External AccountA non-resident may open one with a bank in Malaysia, under Foreign Exchange Policy Notice 4.
AbroadA bank where you areNo Malaysian rule stops it; the foreign bank's own appetite decides.
What will the company mostly do with money?
You live in: pick it

One correction to a claim you'll see online: a Labuan company can hold ringgit onshore. Notice 4, paragraph 9 lets a non-resident open and keep an External Account with a financial institution in Malaysia, and payments in or out are allowed when their purpose fits the rules. Whether a given onshore bank wants a Labuan company is its own call.

1
Key takeaway

Labuan for foreign currency, onshore for ringgit, abroad for convenience.

Chapter 2

Which Labuan banks can hold your company's account

Labuan FSA publishes the official list in the Gazette. The current one, P.U.(B) 118/2026, names 70 Labuan banks and investment banks whose licences were valid at 31 December 2025. Many of the 70 are investment banks, and Labuan IBFC states that investment banks may not accept deposits. They can't keep your company's money.

Malaysian banking groups (7 entities)Foreign banks and investment banks (63)

The seven Malaysian group entities on the list:

  • Maybank International Labuan Branch
  • CIMB Bank (L) Limited
  • CIMB Bank, Labuan Offshore Branch
  • Public Bank (L) Ltd
  • RHB Bank (L) Ltd
  • AmBank (M), Labuan Offshore Branch
  • Hong Leong Bank, Labuan International Branch

Foreign groups on the list include HSBC, Standard Chartered, OCBC, DBS, UOB, Citibank, Cathay United Bank and several Japanese, Chinese and European banks. Being licensed doesn't mean a bank wants a small holding company: none of them publishes which customers it accepts. That knowledge comes from applying, which is why we pick the bank with you rather than send you down the list.

2
Key takeaway

Seventy licences, a much shorter list of banks that take deposits and want your profile.

Chapter 3

The October 2026 rules, and why a holding company gets the long form

Labuan's banks work under Labuan FSA's Guidelines on AML/CFT/CPF and TFS, in force since 28 October 2026 and replacing the 2022 version. Their definition of "higher risk" lists eleven factors. Click the ones that describe your company and watch what the bank must then do.

Two more rules shape every Labuan account. Banks identify every director or shareholder with more than 25% as a beneficial owner (paragraph 10.26). And if the checks can't be completed, the bank shall not open the account (paragraph 10.83). A complete file isn't a courtesy; it is the only path.

3
Key takeaway

Owned from abroad and holding assets: plan for source of wealth evidence from day one.

Chapter 4

Do you have to fly to Labuan?

No rulerequires a visit. Non-face-to-face relationships are allowed if checks are "as effective as" face-to-face (paragraphs 10.77 to 10.82), and e-KYC by video call is permitted (G 11.11).

Labuan FSA went further in a June 2024 note on e-KYC: banks may identify companies electronically, accept digital directors' resolutions, and check a business by video calls to its directors, which may come unannounced. So be ready to take a call and explain the company in your own words.

The rules allow remote opening; they don't oblige any bank to offer it. Some Labuan banks still ask a signatory to come for a short interview. When we choose the bank with you, whether it needs you in Labuan is one of the first questions we settle, so you know before anything is booked.

What the video call usually covers

Who you are and how you made your money. What the company owns and why it's in Labuan. Which accounts send money in and where it goes out. Keep the answers short and the same as the file.

4
Key takeaway

Video is allowed; the bank chooses. We find out before you book anything.

Chapter 5

What a Labuan account costs: two banks' published fees

$

Most Labuan banks don't print their prices. Two do. HSBC's Offshore Banking Unit in Labuan publishes a tariff effective 2 February 2026, and Cathay United Bank's Labuan branch a schedule effective 31 January 2026. Set your own numbers.

HSBC adds 8% service tax to some charges since 1 October 2025, and both banks charge separately for inward transfers and other services. Malaysian group banks in Labuan publish no figures we could find; providers quote minimum deposits from US$10,000 upward, which we don't repeat as fact.

5
Key takeaway

Keep the balance above a bank's minimum and a quiet holding account costs little.

Chapter 6

How money moves through a Labuan holding company

A Labuan account moves money one way: by transfer. Maybank's Labuan page says all transactions go by SWIFT and that over-the-counter cash, cheques and bank drafts are not permitted by Labuan FSA. For a holding company that is rarely a problem; it just shapes the plan.

Company you ownpays a dividendLabuan accountholds US dollarsYour own accountwhere you liveSWIFTSWIFT
Worked example: a US$200,000 dividend paid on to you

HSBC Labuan: 0.0625% commission is US$125, inside its US$35 minimum and US$200 maximum, plus a US$20 or US$30 cable charge. About US$145 to US$155.

Cathay United Bank Labuan: 0.03% is US$60, under its US$100 cap, plus a US$20 cable charge. About US$80.

Your own bank may charge to receive it, and an intermediary bank may take a fee on the way.

One thing to watch: HSBC treats an account with no deposits or withdrawals for 12 months as dormant, and Cathay after 24 months. A holding company that receives one dividend a year stays clear, but one that sits idle for a year should make a small transfer.

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Key takeaway

Transfers only, priced as a percentage with a cap: big, rare payments suit Labuan well.

Chapter 7

No deposit insurance, and who is told about the account

Onshore Malaysian bankRM250,000per depositor per member bank, company accounts included, by PIDM. About US$61,700.
Labuan bankNonePIDM's members are banks licensed under Malaysia's FSA and IFSA 2013. Labuan banks hold Labuan licences, and Malaysian banks' own PIDM notices say money moved to a Labuan banking account is no longer protected.

So the bank's strength matters more than any scheme. A Labuan branch of a large international or Malaysian group is the usual choice for a holding company's balance.

Reporting

Labuan financial institutions report under Labuan's own CRS regulations of 2018, and Malaysia has a FATCA agreement with the United States. A holding company with investment income is usually treated as passive, so the bank reports through to the person who controls it. The bank collects your tax residence, and the account is reported to that country if it exchanges data with Malaysia.

7
Key takeaway

No insurance in Labuan; choose a strong bank, and expect the account to be reported home.

Chapter 8

What the bank will ask for

The rules set the minimum (paragraphs 10.24 to 10.26 and 10.63); banks add their own. Choose who owns the shares to see the list change.

      Malaysia is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so some papers signed abroad need legalising rather than an apostille; we tell you which before you sign anything.

      8
      Key takeaway

      The company papers come from us; the story of your money comes from you.

      Chapter 9

      Your Labuan company, with the bank route planned first

      Our Labuan price has everything a holding company needs to stay in good standing: the licensed trust company, resident director, secretary, audit, board meeting in Labuan and the owner filing. The bank account is set up with you as part of it. We choose the bank to fit your profile, prepare the file to the 2026 rules and stay with it until the account runs. Done that way, it almost always goes through.

      US$4,990a year, the first year included
      • Bank route chosen before you sign
      • File built to Labuan FSA's October 2026 rules
      • We tell you upfront if a bank needs you in Labuan
      • Paid in crypto

      The bank's own fees and any minimum balance are paid to the bank.

      9
      Key takeaway

      One yearly price, with the bank set up alongside the company.

      Chapter 10

      Labuan company bank account questions

      ?
      Can a foreigner open a Labuan company bank account?
      Yes. Labuan banks serve companies owned from abroad, but the 2026 rules treat non-resident customers and personal asset-holding vehicles as higher risk, so expect questions on source of wealth and senior approval at the bank.
      Do I need to visit Labuan to open the account?
      No rule requires it. Labuan FSA allows non-face-to-face opening and e-KYC by video call, but each bank decides, and some still ask a signatory to come in. We find out before anything is booked.
      Can a Labuan company open a ringgit account?
      Yes, onshore. Bank Negara treats Labuan entities as non-residents, and a non-resident may open a ringgit External Account with a bank in Malaysia. A Labuan bank itself deals in ringgit only where Bank Negara allows.
      What is the minimum deposit at a Labuan bank?
      It depends on the bank. Cathay United Bank's Labuan branch asks US$1,000 to open a call deposit account. HSBC Labuan charges US$35 a month when the balance falls below US$20,000. Most Malaysian group banks don't publish a figure.
      Are deposits in Labuan banks insured?
      No. Malaysia's deposit insurer PIDM covers member banks licensed under the FSA and IFSA 2013, up to RM250,000. Labuan banks hold Labuan licences, and banks' own notices say money moved to a Labuan banking account is not protected.
      Can I use cash or cheques with a Labuan account?
      No. Transactions go by SWIFT transfer; over-the-counter cash, cheques and bank drafts are not permitted for Labuan banking business.
      How long does it take?
      No Labuan bank publishes a timeline. A complete file with source of wealth evidence moves fastest; the bank's senior approval for higher-risk customers is the step that sets the pace.
      Does Heirson set up the bank account?
      Yes, with you, as part of the US$4,990 yearly price. We pick the bank for your profile and prepare the file, and it almost always goes through.

      Changelog

      • 13 November 2026: first published.
      Your Labuan company

      A Labuan holding company, and a bank that wants it.

      We match the bank to your profile, then apply with you.

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